Johnnie Ryan (9 reviews)

All three of us Thirsty Dudes have been having the same issue as of late. We are sadly uninspired from drinks as of late. Sure, we've been pushing out some stories and tall-tales, but those are hard to do. Normally they flow like water as if our hands are miniature hoses and water is flowing out of them and miraculously pressing the right keys to easily spit out a funny review about a Malamute on a skateboard.

There is no rhyme or reason to what inspires us but I can tell you what didn't inspire me; this drink. It's alright, but it's nothing special. It's black cherry. It might not even be as good as cheaper variations. There is a certain...offness to this one, though. Once it hits the back of your throat, something numbing and not fantastic happens. That's not something that I signed up for. The smell is inviting enough for me to bear the pain for three quarters of a bottle.

They can't all be hits like their new birch beer flavors, that's for sure. This might be the worst Johnny Ryan I've ever had. You have to start somewhere, I guess, and this would be at the bottom. Sorry local friends but I've got to tell it how it is.

Sometimes there is nothing to do but not go to work and stay home and read a whole mess of comics. Did you know that the Erie County Library has more graphic novels than most comic shops I’ve been in? True fact. I’ve delved into their stock a bit here and there but today I went overboard and checked out nearly 30 collections. Hey it’s cold and slightly snowing and I just want to kick back and relax. That includes drinking a nice dark soda. I would have preferred to accompany my comics and licorice with a root beer, but the only brown pop I had cold was this cola. Fear not, it paired well. I think a pop company should have recommendations on their sodas like wines do. You know like “Pair this Chardonnay with poultry,” but instead it would be things like “Pair this Mountain Dew rip off with video games” or in the case of this drink “Pair with Batman or Ex Machina.” I’m currently following this fictitious beverage association to a T.

Johnny Ryan has yet to disappoint me. This is a cost that is very obviously sweetened with cane sugar. Out of all of the sodas in the world cola benefits from this particular sweetener the most. It just brings out the flavors in a way that other sweeteners can’t. I feel like this should be described the same way as one would a good root beer, so I will do just that. It’s dark and full-bodied. My only complaint is that when you get to the point where there is about 1/5 of the bottle left the flavor gets a bit weak. It’s strange because usually the end of a drink is stronger due to settling, but not in this case.

After my disappointment with yesterday’s birch beer I needed a soda that would be redeeming. While I have issues with Johnnie Ryan because I have emailed them several times about their products and I have never heard back from them, I also know that they know what they are doing when it comes to making soda. Also, they are local to us so that makes it hard to stay mad. One of the emails I actually sent to the company a couple of years ago was regarding whether or not their birch beer would be made available in bottles. I had a glass of it in a “fair/carnival” themed restaurant in the mall once and it was pretty great. As I said I never got a response, but here I am with a bottle in front of me, so I guess the answer to my question was “Yes.”

The Mercury Brewing Company messed up their birch beer pretty bad, but Johnnie Ryan got everything right. The bottle doesn’t mention it, but the cardboard the four packs come in say that it is “black birch beer.” I was intrigued by this, but assumed it was just a quirky name. Wrong. This is the darkest birch beer I have ever tasted. The store in the mall was correct to carry this as their main beverage because it definitely falls under the category of “fair birch beer,” but they took it further and made it very dark, full bodied and flavorful. This is a new product in bottle form and I really hope it sticks around. I always have a hankering for some birch beer, and it can be a pain to find a decent one around these parts.

To sum things up, this may be the best birch beer I have ever tasted. You should definitely pick some up if you see it. Also, Johnnie Ryan you make great sodas, just try to get better at responding to emails. Your mother wants to make sure you’re doing okay out there by the falls.

Are you diabetic and tired of diet sodas that taste like mouthwash? Are you sick of giving your hard earned money to multi-billion dollar corporations like Pepsi or Coca-Cola? Do you want an alternative? Well here it is! Johnnie Ryan Diet Cola! Developed and bottled in Niagara Falls, NY (yes, THAT Niagara Falls), Johnnie Ryan is a local staple of Western New York. While they still use sucralose as their dietary sweetener, they managed to make it not taste like battery acid like so many other diet colas do. The minimal bite means that even your grandma will be able to enjoy this pop. Now don't just sit there, get up and go buy a bottle from your local corner store!*

*This drink may not be available at all local corner stores. Check with the proprietor of the establishment to see if they have it in stock. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited.

Vinnie is the drummer from Less Than Jake and he also owns Paper & Plastick. I met up with him at their recent show in Niagara Falls. After this review we went and explored some haunted "tunnels" underneath the theatre. Good times!

Often when you see something all the time and it's readily available, you take it for granted. Like that time you lived in Halloweenland for that year and you could get Boo Berry and Frankenberry whenever you wanted. Then you moved back to the United States and realized it's only available for three weeks out of the year. Total bummer. That's how I feel about Johnnie Ryan. It's made about 20 minutes away from my house and everywhere around here carries it. As a result it never jumps out at me, so I rarely drink it. I will be the first to admit that I am an idiot. It's pretty great. It falls somewhere in-between the worlds of major brand sodas and what I like to call "fancy pops." This is an above average cream soda. It's heavy on the vanilla, just the way I like it. Remember kids, just because something is made local doesn't mean that it's substandard quality. It also doesn't ensure that it's amazing. It does mean you should give it a fair chance, and hopefully you'll enjoy it.

This is easily the most flavorful cherry soda I've ever had. It tastes like someone carbonated a bottle of grenadine and added some sugar. It's not as heavy tasting as you might think, but unless you LOVE cherry flavor this might be too much for you. My mouth is going to taste like cherry all day now.

This is a nice little ginger ale made by a great local company. It tastes like an improved version of Canada Dry or some similar brand. It's pretty much what you would expect from a ginger ale. There's no actual ginger in it, so there's no burn. If that's what you're looking for you should really grab yourself a ginger beer instead.

I always get really excited to try products made by local companies. Johnnie Ryan is produced in Niagara Falls, about 20 minutes from my house. A bunch of restaurants in the area carry it now, which is great because it is sweetened with cane sugar. I'm definitely a huge fan of the company, and I'm surprised it's taken me so long to try the root beer. I have to say, it's not what I want from a root beer. It just tastes like a sugary soda, and doesn't have any of the earthiness that I have come to expect in nicer varieties. It actually reminds me a lot of A&W or Dads. I'll stick with my "fancier" root beers.